Silencing NlFAR7 destroyed the pore canals and related structures of the brown planthopper

Yi-Lin Cui; Jian-Shen Guo; Chuan-Xi Zhang; Xiao-Ping Yu; Dan-Ting Li

doi:10.1111/imb.12903

Silencing NlFAR7 destroyed the pore canals and related structures of the brown planthopper

Insect Mol Biol. 2024 Mar 2. doi: 10.1111/imb.12903. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yi-Lin Cui¹, Jian-Shen Guo², Chuan-Xi Zhang³, Xiao-Ping Yu¹, Dan-Ting Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection and Quarantine, College of Life Science, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China.
² Center of Cryo-Electron Microscopy, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.

PMID: 38430546
DOI: 10.1111/imb.12903

Abstract

Fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) is one of the key enzymes, which catalyses the conversion of fatty acyl-CoA to the corresponding alcohols. Among the FAR family members in the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens), NlFAR7 plays a pivotal role in both the synthesis of cuticular hydrocarbons and the waterproofing of the cuticle. However, the precise mechanism by which NlFAR7 influences the formation of the cuticle structure in N. lugens remains unclear. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the impact of NlFAR7 through RNA interference, transmission electron microscope, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) and lipidomics analysis. FIB-SEM is employed to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of the pore canals and related cuticle structures in N. lugens subjected to dsNlFAR7 and dsGFP treatments, enabling a comprehensive assessment of changes in the cuticle structures. The results reveal a reduction in the thickness of the cuticle and disruptions in the spiral structure of pore canals, accompanied by widened base and middle diameters. Furthermore, the lipidomics comparison analysis between dsNlFAR7- and dsGFP-treated N. lugens demonstrated that there were 25 metabolites involved in cuticular lipid layer synthesis, including 7 triacylglycerols (TGs), 5 phosphatidylcholines (PCs), 3 phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) and 2 diacylglycerols (DGs) decreased, and 4 triacylglycerols (TGs) and 4 PEs increased. In conclusion, silencing NlFAR7 disrupts the synthesis of overall lipids and destroys the cuticular pore canals and related structures, thereby disrupting the secretion of cuticular lipids, thus affecting the cuticular waterproofing of N. lugens. These findings give significant attention with reference to further biochemical researches on the substrate specificity of FAR protein, and the molecular regulation mechanisms during N. lugens life cycle.

Keywords: 3D reconstruction; Nilaparvata lugens; cuticle; fatty acyl-CoA reductase; lipidomics; pore canal.

Abstract

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